Catastrophic antiphospholipid antibody syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus: An autopsy case report of a young woman

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS) is a severe variant of antiph ospholipid syndrome (APS) characterized by disseminated microangiopathy tha t results in multiorgan failure. CAPS mainly occurs in association with sys temic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Clinically, CAPS mimics disseminated SLE v asculitis, intravascular coagulation (DIC), and particularly thrombotic thr ombocytopenic purpura (TTP). We describe an autopsy case of young woman wit h CAPS in SLE, which is difficult to differentiate from TTP secondary to SL E.